Cosatto Shuffle review

Sitting in the same lane as the Graco Quattro Tour Duo and the Obaby ABC Design Zoom Tandem (but looking far cooler in my opinion) this tandem buggy is a real Godsend when it comes to having two young babies and with a RRP of £300; you get an awful lot for your money!

Great value for money, comes with a cosy toes for the front seat and a baby nest for the rear seat, rear seat suitable from birth, comes with a rain cover, hoods have windows to see the babies, compact umbrella fold, fairly easy to assemble, swivel front wheels, good size storage basket, it looks amazing, 8 wheels rather than 4, feels sturdy, rear seat lies flat

What’s in the box?

• Chassis
• 2 seat units
• 8 Wheels
• Basket
• 2 Hoods
• Head hugger
• Cuddle nest
• Cosy toes
• Rain cover

Any additional extras?

• None

First impressions?

Let’s just start with just how much you get in the box. Not just a great looking buggy, also included in the box is: a 4 year guarantee, a head hugger and cuddle nest for the smaller baby and a really snug Cosy Toes for the older baby (both featuring the same funky star design), a pretty spacious storage basket and a massive raincover. So you really don’t need to buy any additional extras – which means £300 for the whole package. Bargain!

How is assembling the Shuffle?

When it came to opening the box, the instruction manual was pretty easy to follow. My hubby and I put the buggy together, with only a bit of difficulty. It probably took us about 45 minutes to get it up and running, and considering we aren’t the best at DIY and putting things together, I was pretty impressed with that time!

Saying that, the tricky bit was attaching the hoods. You have to pull bits over bits and clip things and twist bits and it was a bit of a faff to be honest – the front seat far more so than the rear seat to be fair.

Also, when it comes to inserting the baby nest and cosy toes, you have to “slip off” the chest pads, in order to get them in. Easier said than done Coastto! It was almost impossible and caused quite a bit of thumb damage.

We had to end up using a knife to get the clip down, in order to slide the chest pads off. Maybe they will loosen up with use, but for now, I’m just keeping the soft goods in and praying for cold water, so we don’t have to repeat the ordeal!

What do you think of the pushchair’s style?

The buggy looks fab. Typical Cosatto design, the chassis is a bright cherry red and the material is black with flashy white stars (and white with black stars on the interior). Even inside the hoods, the pattern is there, so the younger baby has something to look at. I also love that the hoods both have large viewing windows, so you can keep an eye on both babies.

Tell us about the seat unit?

The seats are great. Cosatto tells us that the front seat is suitable for babies from 6 months and the rear seat is suitable from birth. Well, I tried both seats out with an 18-month-old bouncing baby boy, my son, Elijah and an 8-week-old little girl, my daughter Alma.

Elijah loved being in the front seat. There is room for him to grow, a handy foot rest and a handle bar for him to grip (one side of which can be removed for easy access). The rear seat is ideal for a little baby. We placed little Alma in the snug baby nest and strapped her in.

The seat has 3 positions, including flat (which makes it suitable to use from birth). She LOVED it! As mentioned earlier, the inner hood has contrasting black and white stars and she was mesmerised by them and started smiling and gurgling so much that we left her in there for almost half an hour.

Is it as lightweight as Cosatto boast?

The Shuffle does live up to its lightweight status. And because it is a tandem style, it is also quite nippy and is easier than normal double buggy frames for taking in and out of doorways and on public transport (a must-have for busy mums on the move!).

Does the weightlessness affect durability?

Even though it is lightweight, I still found the Shuffle quite durable. The chassis is tough and strong, and it has 8 wheels instead of 4, which helps with the sturdiness.

How does the buggy move when out and about?

It feels quite sturdy on the pavement and in the uneven ground of the park and both babies seemed nice and comfy in it. With the weight mainly at the front (due to the larger baby) it does have a slight impact on steering, making it a bit tricky. I did also find it a bit tricky to manoeuvre the buggy up and down curbs without dips – it is definitely easier to cross where there are dips in the curb if possible.

It is easy to steer though – the front wheels swivel and they have a swivel lock too. The handles are nice and cushy but a slight downfall is you cannot adjust the height of them – not great if you are quite short or quite tall!

The breaks are pretty decent – there is a brake pedal on both back wheels, so you can opt for either side to break. Oh and the storage basket – not too bad! It’s actually quite roomy and I fitted in a shopping back, handbag and various toys and Peppa Pig books! I was impressed.

How does it fold?

We tested the folding system a few times, and once we got the hang of it, it really is quite simple. It folds down and flat, even with the rain hoods in place, sort of like a big umbrella. This makes it really neat and compact (even more so if the hoods aren’t attached).

However, no matter how compact it folds; it unfortunately didn’t fit into our 5-door Polo. This was really annoying, as even after removing the front wheels, it still wouldn’t fit.

So really you do need quite a large family car in order to transport the Shuffle around. Because of that we kept it local when using it: to the shops, to the park, on the bus and tube and round to friends’ houses etc. and for those purposes, it is perfect.

Made For Mums verdict?

All in all, I have to say that I really do rate the Cosatto Shuffle. Yes there are a few niggly negatives, but in terms of value for money, aesthetics and enjoyment for the babies, it really is a pretty fab bit of kit!